43-505: Denain ( French pronunciation: [dənɛ̃] ; Picard : Dnain ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France . As of 2019 Denain had a population of 19,877, on a land area of 11.52 km (4.448 sq mi). It is the largest of 47 communes which comprise the Communauté d'agglomération de la Porte du Hainaut , which in 2017 had a total population of 158,754. A mere village in
86-504: A distinctive literary tradition. The Ch'ti language was re-popularised by the 2008 French comedy film Welcome to the Sticks ( French : Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis ; French pronunciation: [bjɛ̃vny ʃe le ʃti] ) which broke nearly every box office record in France and earned over $ 245,000,000 worldwide on an 11 million euro budget. The first person plural often appears in spoken Picard in
129-515: A large number are unique to Picard—principally terms relating to mining or farming . Here are several typical phrases in Picard, accompanied by French and English translations: Cardinal numbers in Picard from 1 to 20 are as follows: Picard is not taught in French schools (apart from a few one-off and isolated courses) and is generally only spoken among friends or family members. It has nevertheless been
172-572: A large, pin-like monument 45 m (148 ft) in height, built in 2007 on the site of the former belfry. Valenciennes is historically renowned for its lace . Until the 1970s, the main industries were steel and textiles . Since their decline, reconversion attempts focus mainly on automobile production. In 2001, Toyota built its Western European assembly line for the Toyota Yaris in Onnaing near Valenciennes. Because of this and other changes,
215-547: A park and a road in Denain bear the name of the novelist. Former mayor Patrick Roy was also a deputy and became famous for the support for heavy metal music he expressed at the National Assembly on various occasions. The arms of Denain are blazoned : Or, a cross engrailed gules. ( Artres , Bettrechies , Cerfontaine , Denain , Eth , Lesquin , Obies , Quérénaing , Semousies , Wambrechies and Warlaing use
258-778: A protracted Siege of Valenciennes the city was captured and occupied in July by Anglo-Austrian forces under the Duke of York and the Prince of Saxe-Coburg , and only retaken by the French Revolutionary armies in August 1794. In July 1795, one year after the execution of Robespierre put an end to the Reign of Terror , the Republicans of Valenciennes tortured, and guillotined five Ursuline nuns; by some accounts,
301-629: A time the Southern Netherlands joined the revolt, the Spanish forces massed at the porte d'Anzin (in a fortress known as "La Redoute") were besieged by Valenciennes. However, in 1580, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma took Valenciennes and Protestantism was eradicated there. Hereafter, Valenciennes remained under Spanish protection, no longer directly involved in later fighting of the Eighty Years' War . With its manufacturers of wool and fine linens ,
344-620: A variety of very closely related dialects. It is difficult to list them all accurately in the absence of specific studies on the dialectal variations, but these varieties can probably provisionally be distinguished: Amiénois, Vimeu-Ponthieu, Vermandois, Thiérache, Beauvaisis, "chtimi" (Bassin Minier, Lille ), dialects in other regions near Lille (Roubaix, Tourcoing, Mouscron, Comines), "rouchi" ( Valenciennois ) and Tournaisis, Borain, Artésien rural, Boulonnais. The varieties are defined by specific phonetic, morphological and lexical traits and sometimes by
387-524: Is 11.0 °C (51.8 °F). The average annual rainfall is 694.1 mm (27.33 in) with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 18.7 °C (65.7 °F), and lowest in January, at around 3.9 °C (39.0 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Valenciennes was 40.9 °C (105.6 °F) on 25 July 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded
430-474: Is a commune in the Nord department , Hauts-de-France , France. It lies on the Scheldt ( French : Escaut ) river. Although the city and region experienced a steady population decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded. Valenciennes is first mentioned in 693 in a legal document written by Clovis II ( Valentiana ). In the 843 Treaty of Verdun , it was made a neutral city between Neustria and
473-736: Is an onomatopoeia created based on the frequent use of the /ʃ/ ( ch- ) phoneme and of the /ʃti/ ( chti ) sound in Picard: " ch'ti " means the one, as in the sentence " ch'est chti qui a fait cha" ( he is the one who has done that), for instance. Belgium's French Community gave full official recognition to Picard as a regional language along with Walloon , Gaumais ( Lorraine ), Champenois ( Champagne ) and Lorraine German in its 1990 decree. The French government has not followed suit and has not recognized Picard as an official regional language (in line with its policy of linguistic unity, which allows for only one official language in France, as per
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#1732887570297516-610: Is one of the langues d'oïl and belongs to the Gallo - Roman family of languages. It consists of all the varieties used for writing ( Latin : scriptae ) in the north of France from before 1000 (in the south of France at that time the Occitan language was used). Often, the langues d'oïl are referred to simply as Old French . Picard is phonetically quite different from the North-central langues d'oïl , which evolved into modern French. Among
559-665: Is provided by A. S. Bullock who fought at a section of the front near Maresches . The town's first antenna was set up in Lille in 1964, then the Centre universitaire was set up in 1970, becoming independent in 1979 as the University of Valenciennes and Hainaut-Cambrésis. In 2005, a local resident, Isabelle Dinoire , became the first person to have a partial face transplant . Valenciennes has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfb ). The average annual temperature in Valenciennes
602-441: Is similar to that of French. It is undoubtedly the easiest for French speakers to understand but can also contribute the stereotype that Picard is only a corruption of French rather than a language in its own right. Various spelling methods have been proposed since the 1960s to offset the disadvantage and to give Picard a visual identity that is distinct from French. There is now a consensus, at least between universities, in favor of
645-469: Is the area that makes up Romance Flanders , around the metropolis of Lille and Douai , and northeast Artois around Béthune and Lens . Picard is also named Rouchi around Valenciennes , Roubaignot around Roubaix , or simply patois in general French. In 1998, Picard native speakers amounted to 700,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom were elderly people (aged 65 and over). Since its daily use had drastically declined, Picard
688-788: The Austrasia . Later in the 9th century the region was overrun by the Normans , and in 881 the town passed to them. In 923, it passed to the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia dependent on the Holy Roman Empire . Once the Empire of the Franks was established, the city began to develop, though the archaeological record has still not revealed all it has to reveal about this period. Under the Ottonian emperors, Valenciennes became
731-642: The Battle of Valenciennes (16 July 1656) lifted the French siege. In 1677, the armies of Louis XIV of France (this time led by Vauban ) captured the city and in 1678 the Treaty of Nijmegen gave the French control of Valenciennes (1678) and the surrounding southern part of Hainault , roughly cutting the former county in half. The city was besieged by the First Coalition against Revolutionary France in 1793. Following
774-718: The French Constitution ), but some reports have recognized Picard as a language distinct from French. A 1999 report by Bernard Cerquiglini, the director of the Institut national de la langue française (National Institute of the French Language) stated: The gap has continued to widen between French and the varieties of langues d'oïl , which today we would call "French dialects"; Franc-comtois , Walloon , Picard, Norman , Gallo , Poitevin , Saintongeais , Bourguignon-morvandiau , Lorrain must be accepted among
817-657: The Spanish Netherlands with an army composed of German , English , Scottish and French soldiers, and took Valenciennes on 21 May 1572. However, Louis went on to Mons , and the Protestant garrison left behind offered only a feeble defence to the Duke of Alba, at the head of the bulk of the Spanish army, who recaptured Valenciennes in early June 1572, depriving Louis' French allies , of one of their main bases. In 1576, when for
860-571: The Tramway de Valenciennes was put into service on 3 July 2006. 9.5 km (5.9 mi) long, this tramway crosses the five communes in the Valenciennois Metropolitan area, at a cost of 242.75 million Euros . Valenciennes railway station offers connections with Lille, Paris and several regional destinations. Valenciennes is a subprefecture of the Nord département . Valenciennes FC
903-494: The Basilica of Notre-Dame du Saint-Cordon, to which there is an annual pilgrimage; 3) La Maison Espagnole, the remains of the Spanish occupation, which ended in 1678. The building is now used as the town's tourist information office; 4) The Dodenne Tower, the remaining part of the medieval fortifications after Charles V ordered them reduced; 5) Théâtre le Phenix, a theatre and performing arts venue constructed in 1998; 6) The " Beffroi ",
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#1732887570297946-481: The Belgian Wallonia along the border between both countries due to its traditional core being the districts of Tournai and Mons ( Walloon Picardy ). The language or dialect is referred to by different names, as residents of Picardy call it simply Picard , but in the more populated region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais it is called Ch'ti or Ch'timi (sometimes written as Chti or Chtimi ). This
989-544: The Holy Cordon. In 1259, Valenciennes was the site of a General Chapter of the Dominican Order at which Thomas Aquinas together with masters Bonushomo Britto, Florentius, Albert , and Peter took part in establishing a ratio studiorum or program of studies for the Dominican Order that featured the study of philosophy as an innovation for those not sufficiently trained to study theology. This innovation initiated
1032-405: The Sticks , starring comedian Dany Boon , deals with Ch'ti language and culture and the perceptions of the region by outsiders, and it was the highest-grossing French film of all time at the box office in France until it was surpassed by The Intouchables . Today Picard is primarily a spoken language, but in the medieval period, there is a wealth of literary texts in Picard. However, Picard
1075-894: The average unemployment in the region is now below the national average. On 15 July 2004, the Administrative Board of the European Union 's Railway Agency held its first meeting in Phénix, with representatives of the 25 Member States and François Lamoureux , those days Director General for Energy and Transportation at the European Commission. Valenciennes was picked as the European Railway Agency headquarters in December 2003. International conferences are held in Lille . Line No. 1 of
1118-544: The beginning of the 19th century, its population rapidly increased from 1850 until 1962, when it had 29,467 inhabitants. Since then its population declined by about 30%. Its vicinity was the scene of the decisive victory gained in 1712 by Marshal Villars over the allies commanded by Prince Eugene of Savoy ; and the battlefield is marked by a monolithic monument inscribed with the verses of Voltaire : " Regardez dans Denain l'audacieux Villars/Disputant le tonnerre à l'aigle des Césars. " ("See in Denain bold Villars/Fighting
1161-616: The centre of marches on the border of the Empire. In 1008, a terrible famine brought the Plague . According to the local tradition, the Virgin Mary held a cordon around the city which, miraculously, has since protected its people from the disease. Since then, every year at that time, the Valenciennois used to walk around the 14 km (9 mi) road round the town, in what is called the tour of
1204-473: The city was able to become economically independent. The French army laid siege to the city in 1656 ( Vauban participated in this siege without a command ). Defending the city, Albert de Merode , marquis de Trélon was injured during a sortie on horseback, died as a result of his injuries and was buried in the Church of St. Paul (his tomb was found during the archaeological campaign in 1990). The Spanish victory in
1247-487: The eagle of the Caesars"). Denain was an important centre in the industrial revolution, first for coal-mining from 1720, and steelworks from around 1839. The closure of the large Usinor steelworks at Denain was announced in 1978, and the works finally closed in 1988. Émile Zola is thought to have conducted research into the working of the mine and mining communities by visiting Denain before writing Germinal . A primary school,
1290-509: The form of the neutral third person in ; however, the written form prioritizes os (as in French, where on is used for nous ). On the other hand, the spelling of conjugated verbs will depend on the pronunciation, which varies within the Picard domain. For instance southern Picard would read il étoait / étoét while northern Picard would read il étot . This is noted as variants in the following: The majority of Picard words derive from Vulgar Latin . Many words are very similar to French, but
1333-710: The modern French form of chasser . Because of the proximity of Paris to the northernmost regions of France, French (that is, the languages that were spoken in and around Paris) greatly influenced Picard and vice versa. The closeness between Picard and French causes the former to not always be recognised as a language in its own right, but rather a "distortion of French" as it is often viewed. Despite being geographically and syntactically affiliated according to some linguists due to their inter-comprehensible morphosyntactic features, Picard in Picardy, Ch'timi and Rouchi still intrinsically maintain conspicuous discrepancies. Picard includes
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1376-586: The most notable traits, the evolution in Picard towards palatalization is less marked than in the central langues d'oïl in which it is particularly striking; /k/ or /ɡ/ before /j/ , tonic /i/ and /e/ , as well as in front of tonic /a/ and /ɔ/ (from earlier *au ; the open /o/ of the French p o rte ) in central Old French but not in Picard: The effects of palatalization can be summarised as this: There are striking differences, such as Picard cachier ('to hunt') ~ Old French chacier , which later took
1419-561: The nuns were raped before being executed. After the Napoleonic era, Valenciennes gave itself up to the Bourbons in 1815 for 5 years. During World War I the German army occupied the town in 1914. They were finally driven out by British forces at the Battle of Valenciennes in 1918, 'in which seven British divisions attacked eleven German divisions'. One dramatic first-hand experience of this battle
1462-625: The object of scholarly research at universities in Lille and Amiens , as well as at Indiana University . Since people are now able to move around France more easily than in past centuries, the different varieties of Picard are converging and becoming more similar. In its daily use, Picard is tending to lose its distinctive features and may be confused with regional French. At the same time, even though most Northerners can understand Picard today, fewer and fewer are able to speak it, and people who speak Picard as their first language are increasingly rare, particularly under 50. The 2008 film Welcome to
1505-557: The regional languages of France ; by placing them on the list [of French regional languages], they will be known from then on as langues d'oïl . Even if it has no official status as a language in France, Picard, along with all the other languages spoken in France, benefits from actions led by the Culture Minister's General Delegation for the French language and the languages of France ( la Délégation générale à la langue française et aux langues de France ). Picard, like French,
1548-585: The same arms.) Picard language Picard ( / ˈ p ɪ k ɑːr d / , also US : / p ɪ ˈ k ɑːr d , ˈ p ɪ k ər d / , French: [pikaʁ] ) is a langue d'oïl of the Romance language family spoken in the northernmost of France and parts of Hainaut province in Belgium. Administratively, this area is divided between the French Hauts-de-France region and
1591-714: The tradition of Dominican scholastic philosophy put into practice, for example, in 1265 at the Order's studium provinciale at the convent of Santa Sabina in Rome, out of which would develop the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum . In 1524, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , arrived at Valenciennes, and – even when Henry II of France allied with him against the Protestants in 1552 – Valenciennes became ( c. 1560 ) an early center of Calvinism and in 1562
1634-811: The written form known as Feller-Carton (based on the Walloon spelling system, which was developed by Jules Feller , and adapted for Picard by Professor Fernand Carton ). Picard, although primarily a spoken language, has a body of written literature: poetry, songs (" P'tit quinquin " for example), comic books, etc. A number of dictionaries and patois guides also exist (for French speakers): Valenciennes Valenciennes ( / ˌ v æ l ɒ̃ ˈ s j ɛ n / , also UK : / ˌ v æ l ən s i ˈ ɛ n / , US : /- n z , v ə ˌ l ɛ n s i ˈ ɛ n ( z )/ , French: [valɑ̃sjɛn] ; also Dutch : Valencijn ; Picard : Valincyinnes or Valinciennes ; Latin : Valentianae )
1677-582: Was also one of the first to feel the hand of repression after the siege and fall of the city on March 23, 1567. One of the victims of that repression was Guido de Bres , the author of the Belgic Confession . Following the " révolte des gueux 's victory at Brielle , the army of Louis of Nassau , one of the major commanders of the Dutch rebel forces and supported by the Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny , invaded
1720-577: Was declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) a "severely endangered language ". However, as of 2023, the Picard language was listed as “vulnerable” by UNESCO. The word ch'ti , chtimi or ch'timi to designate the Picard language was invented during the First World War by Poilus from non-Picard speaking areas to refer to their brothers in arms from Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais . It
1763-553: Was location of the first act of resistance against persecution of Protestants in the Spanish Netherlands . On the "Journée des Mals Brûlés" (Bad Burnings Day) in 1562, a mob freed some Protestants condemned to die at the stake . In the wave of iconoclastic attacks called the Beeldenstorm that swept the Habsburg Netherlands in the summer of 1566, the city was the furthest south to see such an attack on August 24, 1566. It
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1806-458: Was not able to compete with French and was slowly reduced to the status of a regional language. A more recent body of Picard literature, written during the last two centuries, also exists. Modern written Picard is generally a transcription of the spoken language. For that reason, words are often spelled in a variety of different ways (in the same way that English and French were before they were standardized). One system of spelling for Picard words
1849-457: Was −14.9 °C (5.2 °F) on 7 January 2009. The Hindenburg Line ran through Valenciennes during World War I , leading to extensive destruction. Valenciennes was again almost completely destroyed during World War II , and has since been rebuilt in concrete. A few surviving monuments are: 1) The façade of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), which managed to survive the bombardments of the war; 2)
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